Del Mar Mmm: Gourmet Food Truck Fest

About 50 savory purveyors make for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

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ONE PLACE, ALL THE CHOICES: Even though we know it isn't exactly true, we can all have the same thought when facing a few dozen food trucks: All of the foods of the world are before me, right here, right now. Correct? Many of think this, or some version of it. Beholding 50 or so menus loaded with a diverse range of options, from French fries loaded with cheese curds to ahi tacos to Hawaiian pizza to coffee ice cream can fill our head with the food-based fantasy that every edible ever invented is before us. Not so, but are you seeing more supping than you can possibly take on in a year? Maybe even the better part of a lifetime? That's a closer assumption. And a fun one, too, when it becomes a reality, if only for a day. That day, in Del Mar, is Saturday, Aug. 16, and the place? The Seaside Concert Area, west of the Grandstand, at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. It's the Gourmet Food Truck Festival, and we tipped our hand earlier as to how many different mobile eateries are do: Fifty are expected, which'll make the winnowing of lunchy choices for you a very difficult winnowing, indeed.

HOW YOU GET TO THE FOOD: It won't be hard to find the fest, given that 50 or so food trucks are rather easy to spot. But you will need to get into the track first, and that's six bucks. Bring more bucks beyond that, because while the festival offers free admission, the eats'll be four bucks to eight bucks (ish). Seafoody goodness from Cousins Maine Lobster, swanky sandwiches from the Devilicious Food Truck, and Stuffed!'s "elevated comfort food" are three of your plate-filling possibilities. Will every edible in the world be in Del Mar? Not quite, but a mammothly full array of menu-packed choices await. Let's call a mondo food truck festival a place where a large, large fraction of the world's foods can be found. Don't get overwhelmed, eaters.

THE BENEFICIARY: The food-trucky goodness helps out Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego.